I'm actually getting a little jump on things by leaving this weekend for a super-quick trip to Paris (if there is ever a tragic phrase, I think that might be it)...for the QQML conference, where I will be presenting with my dissertation advisor. It's the last of the lingering UNT things. A joint presentation was a condition of a faculty research grant we received, which will cover most of my airfare. I'll be back in time for graduation.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Not the tornado. No, Friday I woke up with a painful right eye. It got worse throughout the day. I spent the weekend in my glasses (which I almost never wear), noticing that my eyes hurt extra much when I tried to read Agatha Christie's Third Girl (my comfort reading). I listened to Z, Therese Fowler's Zelda Fitzgerald biopic, with my new bluetooth earbuds instead.

With my eye still very red and abraded feeling, I called into school this morning, and went to an ophthalmologist. It turns out that I have a corneal ulcer, something that, if not treated, can lead to "the loss of vision" full stop. I have pills, eyedrops, and an appointment to go back in a week. No contact lenses or eye makeup in the meantime (not exactly the look I was after in graduation season). I am rather blind in my glasses, which the ophthalmologist said were too strong for me in any event. I have a feeling this is going to be a protracted ordeal.

It's only the briefest suggestion of what it would be like to be restricted in my most normal practice, but it gives me a new appreciation for my senses. I cannot wait until I can read again.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Sometimes, when I attempt to describe my dissertation research, I feel ridiculous. "I found that kids who read comics and other forms of visual narrative enjoy reading more and use the library more than peers who only read text."

Of course they do. But we live in an era where we have to prove *everything*.